Re D (Care or Supervision Order) [1993] 2 FLR 423 The father had a conviction for cruelty to a child and had served 18 months when a child in his care died. The LA was concerned for the safety of a different child of a relationship between the father and a different mother. An interim…

SUMMARY OF LEGAL PRINCIPLES RE INTERIM HEARINGS & REMOVAL OF CHILDREN FROM PARENTS An examination of the case law continues to demonstrate that interim removal should very rarely be ordered and that very great care indeed should be taken to ensure that there is proper pre-proceedings disclosure and scrupulously fair procedures adopted at hearings. In…

RELEVANT LAW The law relevant to fact finding hearings of this nature can be summarised as follows. I should have in the forefront of my mind the provisions of Articles 6 and 8 of the ECHR. In particular it is important that I ensure that any person who might be affected adversely by my judgment,…

Letters to Experts This text takes account of the 2013 Public Law Outline, the Practice Directions relevant to experts in Family Proceedings (PD 25 A-F) (http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/family/rules_pd_menu ) & previous Family Justice Council guidance now contained at the end of Practice Direction 25C. At the end of this document is an extract from the case of…

SEDLEY J (AS HE THEN WAS) THE LAWS OF DOCUMENTS FIRST LAW: Documents may be assembled in any order, provided it is not chronological, numerical or alphabetical. SECOND LAW: Documents shall in no circumstances be paginated continuously. THIRD LAW: No two copies of any bundle shall have the same pagination. FOURTH LAW: Every document shall…